Israeli delegation in Doha discussing list of Palestinian prisoners to be released

Yasmine Osama Farag , Wednesday 15 Jan 2025

An Israeli delegation in Doha is discussing the names of Palestinian prisoners to be released under the Gaza ceasefire deal, the Walla website reported, citing a knowledgeable official.

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Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli army strike early Tuesday morning in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.AP

 

Negotiators were trying to hammer out the final details of a ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday after marathon talks in Qatar. US and Egyptian leaders promised to stay in close contact about a deal over the coming hours. 

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and US President Joe Biden discussed the situation hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Washington, Cairo, and Doha had collaborated to create a final ceasefire proposal for Gaza.

"We are working on a list of the names of Palestinian prisoners proposed for release to publish it," Walla quoted the Israeli Ministry of Justice as saying. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held security consultations on Tuesday regarding the anticipated deal. According to Israeli media, the negotiation team in Doha participated in the discussions via videoconferencing.

Earlier, American network CBS reported, citing officials, that Israel and Hamas have agreed on a draft ceasefire agreement. 

The officials added that completing the Gaza ceasefire agreement could happen this week if things went as planned. 

On Monday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said a Gaza truce deal is close and could be finalized in the final week of US President Joe Biden's term. 

Waiting for clear maps
 

In a statement, Hamas said the talks in Doha had reached the final steps and expressed hope that this round of negotiations would lead to a deal. 

Two officials involved in the talks told The Associated Press that Hamas has accepted a draft agreement.

However, a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group has not officially delivered its response yet because it was waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza. 

The official pointed out that these maps include the Israeli withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor to facilitate the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes.

They also include their withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the border with Egypt, Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, and Rafah in the southern part of the strip. 

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad said in a statement that a high-level delegation arrived in Qatar’s capital Tuesday to take part in final arrangements for a ceasefire deal. 

A phased deal
 

In the first stage of the Gaza truce deal, Hamas will free 33 captives held in Gaza, and Israel will release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including those with lengthy sentences, Israeli and Palestinian sources told AFP on Tuesday. 

On Monday, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Authority, Qadoura Fares, said as many as 3,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails could be released as part of the anticipated deal.

In statements to the Palestinian news agency Ma’an, Fares explained that the first phase in the finalized three-phase proposed deal, delivered by Qatar to Israel and Hamas on Sunday, involves swapping 1,248 Palestinian prisoners with 25 Israeli captives held in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

The figures for Palestinian prisoners to be released in this phase include 48 Palestinians released in the 2011 swap deal for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and rearrested by Israel later; 1,000 prisoners, including all children, women, and sick detainees in Israeli prisons; and 200 prisoners serving life sentences, who would likely leave Israeli jails for exile in Qatar, Egypt, or Turkey.

Three Israeli captives would be released on the first day of the agreement's implementation, with additional releases occurring every seven days during the first phase of the agreement, The Financial Times quoted a diplomat as saying.

An Israeli official said negotiations for a second phase would commence on the "16th day" after the first phase's implementation.  

This phase would cover the release of the remaining captives, including "male soldiers, men of military age, and the bodies of slain captives," the Times of Israel reported.

Israeli media reported that under the proposed deal, Israel would maintain a buffer zone within Gaza during the first phase. 

Israel's forces were expected to remain up to "800 metres (yards) inside Gaza stretching from Rafah in the south to Beit Hanun in the north," according to a source close to Hamas. 

The Israeli official said Israeli forces would not fully withdraw from Gaza until all captives are returned.

Haaretz reported that Israel would allow the movement of residents from southern Gaza to the north. 

The source close to Hamas added that Israeli forces would withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor westward toward Salaheddin Road to the east, enabling displaced people to return through an electronic checkpoint equipped with cameras.  

"No Israeli forces will be present, and Palestinian militants will be barred from passing through the checkpoint during the return of displaced persons," he said. 

 

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